A conventional jet pump generally includes a jet pump housing, a nozzle having a converging nozzle bore in the jet pump housing, a nozzle tip which communicates with the nozzle bore and terminates in a nozzle chamber, a mixing chamber which communicates with the nozzle chamber and a diverging passage which communicates with the mixing chamber. As it flows through the nozzle, a pressurized power fluid creates a smaller, higher velocity stream which draws a suction fluid into the nozzle chamber and further into the mixing chamber. The mixed fluid expands in the diverging passage, reducing the velocity and increasing the pressure of the fluid. Jet pumps are suitable for a variety of applications including downhole applications, in which the pumps may be used to retrieve well fluid mixed with hydrocarbons to the well surface.
In hydrocarbon production applications, the jet pump housing of a jet pump is attached to a tubing string which is inserted in a well bore. Power fluid is pumped through the tubing string into the jet pump. As the power fluid flows through the nozzle in the jet pump housing, reservoir fluid from the well bore is drawn into the jet pump via a pressure drop generated by the power fluid and mixes with the power fluid. The fluid mixture, which includes power fluid and reservoir fluid, flows through the well annulus to the well surface or up the tubing in case of reverse flow.
One of the limitations or conventional jet pumps which are used in hydrocarbon production applications is that the diffuser and/or other components of the jet pump may be immovably attached to the jet pump housing. Consequently, these components hinder downhole cleaning and/or maintenance operations in the well bore and thus, the tubing string must be removed from the well bore in order to perform these operations. Thus, a reversible operation jet pump which includes a housing that is attached to a tubing string and from which a jet pump assembly including the functional components of the jet pump can be selectively removed from the housing while the housing remains in place in the tubing string, allowing for unobstructed cleaning and/or maintenance of the well bore is desirable. A reversible operation jet pump which includes a jet pump assembly that can be selectively re-oriented in the jet pump housing to facilitate reversible operation, in combination with the fore-stated through accessibility, of the jet pump is also desirable.